Book Club Classics- Classics Meme

Seen my latest giveaway? Enter for a chance to win “Surviving Ben’s Suicide“  by C. Comfort Shields!

 

In order to promote her new site, LitGuides.com (a site dedicated to helping teachers/students navigate classic lit), Kristen over at Book Club Classicshas started her first meme - and thekoolaidmom over at In the Shadow of Mt. TBR tagged me for it.  The questions are below, and I’m tagging (although I don’t know/remember who has done this and who hasn’t): She is Too Fond of Books,  Presenting Lenore, 2 Many Books 2 Read, Adventures in Never-Never Land,  Book Zombie, and Nashville Book Worm.  But hey, if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it

 

1. What is the best classic you were “forced” to read in school (and why)?
2. What was the worst classic you were forced to endure (and why)?
3. Which classic should every student be required to read (and why)?
4. Which classic should be put to rest immediately (and why)?
5. **Bonus** Why do you think certain books become classics?

 

1.  Hmm the best classic. Probably a tie.  “The Outsiders” by S. E. Hinton was one I read in seventh grade and I loved it.  It’s just such a fascinating story, what happens to Sodapop, Ponyboy, Johnny, Dally etc… every character was different.  The story of the greasers and the socs- unforgettable.  I also read “Rebecca” by Daphne DuMaurier in tenth grade.  Now that was a thriller.  I had no expectations for that book but found myself unable to put it down.  That twist in there- I didn’t see it coming.  I also loved “Jane Eyre“, and “The Hobbit” (although I didn’t like “The Hobbit” when I had to read it in sixth grade- it wasn’t until I tried it again when I was older that I actually enjoyed it.)

2.  Ugh the worst classic. So many come to mind… “Grapes of Wrath“, “The Unvanquished“… Actually I think that’s all that comes to mind.  Honestly I don’t remember why I hated them- I just did.  Oh, also I hated “Mama Day” and “Brave New World”, but I’m not sure either of them count as classics.  It’s odd, since I was in honors classes, I missed out on what regular English classes were reading, and some of them probably sucked.  (Honestly I think our English program was awful… I never read “The Illiad“, “The Odessy“, “Canterbury Tales“, “1984“, ”The Great Gatsby“, “Wuthering Heights“, “Catch-22“, “Slaughterhouse-five“, no Austen, no Dickens, no Tolstoy, no Dostoyevsky, no Twain… I could go on and on!)  

3.  I’m going to cheat on this question.  I don’t think that everyone should be forced to read a certain book.  The ‘forcing’ just makes kids not want to read.  One thing I thought was a great idea was what my tenth grade English teacher did- he gave options.  You had four plays to chose from, four children’s literature books, four classics, and four biographies.  This was how I ended up reading “Rebecca“.  But the fact that I had options didn’t put so much pressure on, and thus I enjoyed it more.  (But I do feel that everyone should read some Shakespeare in school- really in depth Shakespeare, not just going over it and having students pretend like they understand it.)

4. The classic that should be put to rest… hmm.  That’s a tough one.  I don’t think anything should really be put to rest- after all one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.  I’m sure there are people out there who think that “Grapes of Wrath” is their favorite book, even though I hated it.  Okay wait, make them put down “Animal Farm“- oh my god did I hate that…. 

5.  As for why certain books become classics, to me its whether or not they stand the test of time.  “Pride and Prejudice” was published in 1813.  “Oliver Twist” in 1837.  “The Three Musketeers” in 1844.  ”Jane Eyre” in 1847.  “Little Women” in 1868.  I could go on and on.  Books older than this, books newer than this…. The Harry Potter books for example could become classics in my eyes, simply because a hundred years from now, kids may still be reading them.  But, I don’t consider them classics yet… I don’t think I have a certain amount of time in my head, that a book has to have been around for before it becomes a classic- but the HP books are definitely too new.  I count the Lord of the Rings as a classic, even though that was published around 1954. So maybe *around* 50 years to me makes a classic- to me.

Sorry I’m babbling on about the last question! 

Does anybody else have a certain amount of time that a book has to have been around for, before it can be called a classic?

 

Missed my last post?  It was REVIEW, INTERVIEW, AND GIVEAWAY: “SURVIVING BEN’S SUICIDE” BY C. COMFORT SHIELDS.

Review, Interview, and Giveaway: “Surviving Ben’s Suicide” by C. Comfort Shields

Title: “Surviving Ben’s Suicide“

Author: C. Comfort Shields

Format: Hardcover

Number of Pages: 260

ISBN: 978-0-595-70530-6

Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.

Date of Publication: April 23, 2008

5 stars: How do you survive the suicide of a loved one?

 

“A month after Ben died, days and nights were long.  I tried to fill them with early morning walks on the beach and early evenings of painting in the garden.  At night, when I could not sleep, my mother and I would sit on my bed for hours talking about life, death, ghosts, and Ben.  But every morning I looked at the phone on my bedside table, knew that Ben would never be on the other end, and felt a deep void that I thought would never go away.” (”Surviving Ben’s Suicide” pg 1)

 

As for what this book is about, the title pretty much explains it all.  It opens with a preface from the author.  She explains how when Ben died she searched for books on how to deal with losing a significant other to suicide, and came up empty.  And when she began to write her own story, how many encouraged her to write it as fiction.  I admit that the words flow so well that they seem like they are fiction.  I’m drawn into the story, and then have to shake myself as I realize, “Oh wait, all of this really did happen.”

Perhaps my favorite parts of the book are the descriptions.  Shields clearly has a way with words as she describes Ben.  It is heartbreaking to read in the beginning, as she describes crumbling up a wildflower that Ben had picked and saved, only to moments later try to scrape the dust back into the envelope the flower was originally in.

Since I’ve never been in the same position as Shields, I cannot say whether or not this book would be helpful after the suicide of a loved one.  But I thank her for sharing her experience, and I would hope that this book, would be a comfort to those going through the same thing.  See below for my interview with C. Comfort Shields, and a details on how to win ”Surviving Ben’s Suicide“.  

But don’t just take my word for it!  My friend Meghan aka Medieval Bookworm wrote a great review of this book too. Read it here :) 

 

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥ 

After reading “Surviving Ben’s Suicide“, the author- C. Comfort Shields, agreed to answer a few questions for me.  Hello Comfort and thank you for being with us here today!

Q.  Because you use the initial C, I admit to being curious as to what your first name is.  Plus I noticed that you are called Comfort throughout the book.  So my first question is, what is your first name, and is there a reason you published your book only using the C? 

A. That’s a great question. My full name is Caroline Comfort Shields, but I have always been called Comfort. My parents named me Caroline after my great-grandmother. Comfort was the middle name of my parents’ dear friend, Nathan Comfort Starr, who was a poet and an expert on the Arthurian myth. Years later, we learned that we had several ancestors from England named Comfort. It was a popular man’s name during the Middle Ages. My parents wanted me to be called Comfort, but they felt that Caroline Comfort had a better ring to it than Comfort Caroline. Normally, I go by Comfort Shields, but I decided to keep the initial C in my memoir, because it reminds me of my beloved great-grandmother.

Q.  Something that I always wonder about when I pick up a book is the cover art.  It’s only since I’ve started doing author interviews that I realized I had the power to ask about it.  So, my next question is: did you have any input in the cover for your book?

A. I’m fascinated by cover art, too. I chose the photo for the cover of the book. The woman in the photo is not me, but I liked the idea of the cover showing a woman who looked like me, from behind, sitting in a quiet and peaceful place and thinking. The designer decided to make the background black and white and the woman’s figure in color to represent how I was writing in present time, while looking back into the past and re-examining my life and the place that my relationship with Ben had in it. I asked the designer to try to create a meditative and serious mood, while not being overly dark, since the message of the book is positive and life-affirming.

Q.  Through your book I believe you have done something remarkable, and that was to immortalize Ben.  You’ve shared with us who Ben was, and allowed us to see how special he was.  And though your entire book is in itself a message, is there anything you’d like to say to those who are considering picking this up?

A. Thank you, how nice of you to say that I have immortalized Ben. That makes me feel wonderful, because bringing Ben’s character to life was one of my greatest difficulties, while writing the book. Sometimes, I think that it is most difficult to describe or ’show in words’ the people to whom we are the closest. Putting my feelings about Ben and my memories onto paper was something that I struggled with for years, while working on my memoir. In the end, I felt that dialogue was the most effective way to show who Ben really was, and I have received several emails from people, who have said that their favorite part of the book was the series of phone calls between Ben and me towards the end of the book, because the conversations brought Ben, and my relationship with Ben, to life.

That brings me to your question, which is what I would tell people, who were considering reading my book. I would talk about how strongly I feel about the place of memory in our lives. Of course, the word memoir comes from the French, memoire, which stems from the Latin, memoria or “memory”. A major theme in Surviving Ben’s Suicide is the power and the importance of memories in one’s life. To me, the most tragic thing that can happen, when a person undergoes a serious loss in his or her life is to repress one’s emotions and memories. So often, we are told to ‘move on’ after the death of a loved one. That phrase can be extremely unhelpful to people in the depths of mourning. Everyone grieves in his or her own way on his or her own time. In fact, for most of us, it is impossible to forget those we loved. Trying to do so, can cause us to become full of rage, despair and, eventually, to explode, taking out our feelings on ourselves or others. Perhaps the most critical lesson that I have learned, while writing my memoir, is that our memories of the people we have loved and the events that we have endured become part of who we are. The more we examine and re-examine those memories, the wiser we become and the more able we are to treat ourselves and others better in the future.

Q.  On a lighter note, let’s finish with my usual final bookish questions!  What kind of books do you like to read?  What is your favorite book?  Who is your favorite author?  Finally, what are you reading now and why?

A. I love to read memoirs and autobiographies. I have always been fascinated by other people’s lives. My favorite author is Anais Nin. Her early diaries opened up a new world for me, when I was in college. They inspired me to be more open about my own life. Since then, I have read all of Nin’s diaries, essays, and novels. I love to re-read the books in my library, because, as I change, I find that my interpretations of my books change. Currently, I am re-reading Remembering Denny by Calvin Trillin. I love Trillin’s voice and find the book to be wonderfully straightforward and poignant. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is another favorite writer of mine. If one had to write the perfect ending of a book, I would recommend getting as close as possible to the end of Love in the Time of Cholera or No One Writes to the Colonel.

There you have it folks!  “Surviving Ben’s Suicide” can be purchased here, and I recommend you do.  Don’t forget to take a minute to visit Comfort’s new blog.

ATTENTION: Carrie from Planned Television Arts sent me an extra copy to give away to one lucky commenter.  All you have to do is comment on this post telling me why you’d like to win and read this book, AND mention something about my interview with Comfort.  (Don’t just say “I want to win this!”)  Link to this post and tell me about it for an extra entry.  The contest will run from now until July 31rst at 12:00am EST.  So lots of time for you to spread the word about it!  Good luck

Thanks to C. Comfort Shields and Carrie Wallick.  

Missed my last post?  It was STILL HAVEN’T BOUGHT “ABERRATIONS” BY PENELOPE PRZEKOP?

Still haven’t bought “Aberrations” by Penelope Przekop?

What?  You still haven’t bought “Aberrations” by Penelope Przekop? 

Despite my awesome review and interview with the author? 

Despite finding out about the fan page on facebook? 

Well how about reading a sample chapter? 

 

 

 

Made up your mind yet?  Buy it here!

 

Missed my last post?  It was TUESDAY THINGERS.

Tuesday Thingers

Today’s topic, courtesy of The Boston Bibliophile: Book-swapping. Do you do it? What site(s) do you use? How did you find out about them? What do you think of them? Do you use LT’s book-swapping column feature for information on what to swap? Do you participate in any of the LT communities that discuss bookswapping, like the Bookmooch group for example?

Well this will be short.  I don’t really book swap.  I thought about Bookmooch and some other sites but it looked like you had to send out books before you could really get anything… and usually the only reason I was on swapping sites was because I was trying to get my hands on something asap. 

Plus I have a disease— I can’t give up books, unless I HATED them.  I do lend out books on Librarything.  I have no problem lending, I just lol want them to come back to me to stay in my library.  Lol so if you see something in my library that you’d like to read, feel free to ask for it because I have no problem sending it out- just know you’ll have to send it back to me at some point

 

If you do use bookmooch, what do you think of it?

 

Missed my last post?  It was PLAGIARISM UPDATE.

Plagiarism Update

Update/Recap on the plagiarism situation.  After three weeks, ebay responded to my email with an automatic message directing me to the VERO forms.  The VERO forms however appeared to deal with listings, not reviews.  I asked Live Help if I was correct in assuming this.  They confirmed that for me.  But some of the Amazon reviewers that I notified sent them in anyways.  And some of the reviews were removed from ebay as a result.  It went down from 224 to 215.  But some people have sent in their VERO forms and their reviews are still up there.  Clearly, as another reviewer mentioned, they are going to do this one at a time and they are in no hurry to do so.  Well we’re fighting back.  I have no idea whether this will go anywhere, but another reviewer has a lawyer willing to deal with this for free.  I’ve spent awhile linking to the original reviewers, original reviews, and copied reviews.  The list is below.  (Sorry you can’t see the title of the book, I can’t figure out how to format that to fit.)

 

 

Amazon.com reviewer	Amazon review	Ebay review	Book
! Betty Dravis “BettyDravis@gmail.com, author of The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley +”	A Review	E Review	The 6th Target
” Linda Bulger”	A Review	E Review	Lost Souls
“intentaccess”	A Review	E Review	Vengeance in Death
“karben”	A Review	E Review	A Family Haggadah II
“miers”	A Review	E Review	Concrete Countertops: Design, Form, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath
A Customer	A Review	E Review	A. Philip Randolph: A Biographical Portrait
A Customer	A Review	E Review	At the Feet of Jesus: A Safe Place in the Disquiet of Life
A Customer	A Review	E Review	Floating in Space
A Customer	A Review	E Review	Jake Drake, Know-It-All
A Customer	A Review	E Review	Pharmacy Technician
A Customer	A Review	E Review	Suzanne Somers’ Eat Great Lose Weight
A Customer	A Review	E Review	The Merchant of Venice (Cliffs Notes)
A Customer	A Review	E Review	The Pharmacy Technician
A. Luciano	A Review	E Review	Romiette and Julio
A. Ross	A Review	E Review	Lush Life
Amazon		E Review	Essentials of Investments with S&P bind-in card
Amazon		E Review	Understanding Your Health with Online Learning Center Bind-in Card
Andrea Griffin “Avid Reader”	A Review	E Review	Dead Perfect
armchairinterviews.com	A Review	E Review	Seasoned in the south: Recipes from Crook’s Corner and from Home
Arnold Howard	A Review	E Review	The Gift of Fear
Asad	A Review	E Review	Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West
B. Marold	A Review	E Review	Get Saucy: Make Dinner a New Way Every Day with Simple Sauces, marinades, Glazes….
B. Marold	A Review	E Review	The Perfectionist
B. Marold	A Review	E Review	The Soul of a New Machine
B. Nolan	A Review	E Review	Tempted in the Night
Beth Bois “alaboutnow”	A Review	E Review	The Orgasmic Diet: A Revolutionary Plan to Lift Your Libido and Bring You to Orgasm
Betsy Lord	A Review	E Review	Dakota Born
Bobby Newman	A Review	E Review	Servant of the Bones
Bobby Pagenkopf “spagenkopf”	A Review	E Review	I Live in Your Basement!
Bonnie M. Traylor	A Review	E Review	90 Minutes in Heaven
Brett R. Schulte “Civil War Buff”	A Review	E Review	The Petersburg Campaign: June1864- april 1865/The Fredericksburg Campaign
C Baker “cbaker8887@aol.com”	A Review	E Review	Stranger in Paradise
C. Falzone “Imperator”	A Review	E Review	Life of Reilly
C. Price “Layman, Lawyer, Blogger”	A Review	E Review	The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
Caballero del febo	A Review	E Review	Midnight on the Moon
Callie “chroi”	A Review	E Review	Twelve Angry Men
Carol “Avid, 20-something reader.”	A Review	E Review	Charm!
Catherine Parks “mpoppins1″	A Review	E Review	The Hidden Face of God: Finding the Missing Door to the Father Through Lament
catwoman “Seminary Bookworm”	A Review	E Review	Keeping a Princess Heart: In a Not-So-Fairy-Tale World
Chad Davies “Downhill”	A Review	E Review	Ten Years Thinner: Six Weeks to a Leaner, Younger-Looking You
Chadwick H. Saxelid “Bookworm”	A Review	E Review	Walking Wisely: Real Guidance for Life’s Journey
Chandra Prasad	A Review	E Review	The Job Search Solution: The Ultimate System for Finding a Great Job Now!
Cherise Everhard	A Review	E Review	Freefall: A High Risk Novel
Cherise Everhard	A Review	E Review	The Calhouns: Catherine, Amanda, and Lilah
Chess Heart “paxbear”	A Review	E Review	Chocolate Fever
Cindy Gerlach Mueller “So Many Books, So Little Time”	A Review	E Review	Where the Lilies Bloom
Class 15	A Review	E Review	Mr. Tucket
cliff	A Review	E Review	Drive Right: You Are the Driver
Colleen McMahon “bookaholic”	A Review	E Review	El Traje del muerto/Heart shaped Box
Cy B. Hilterman “Cy. Hilterman”	A Review	E Review	The Dark Tide
D. Buxman “A Seeker of Truth”	A Review	E Review	Don’t Start The Revolution Without Me!
D. Christofferson	A Review	E Review	Lethal Justice
D. Stuart “Researcher at Kudos”	A Review	E Review	Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Delusions
David Chaumette	A Review	E Review	I is for Innocent
David D. Flowers “free-lance writer & blogger”	A Review	E Review	Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices
David Rosenberg “sarasobe”	A Review	E Review	Day of the Dragon King
David S. Rose	A Review	E Review	The Teeth of the Tiger
Deborah Wiley	A Review	E Review	Demon’s Kiss
Denise Hahn	A Review	E Review	Messages from Frank’s Landing: A story of Salmon, Treaties, and the Indian Way
Dr. W. G. Covington, Jr.	A Review	E Review	God and Man at Yale
E. A Solinas “ea_solinas”	A Review	E Review	Martha Stuart’s Better Than You at Entertaining (A Parody)
E. Chen	A Review	E Review	The Manga Bible: From Genesis to Relavation
E. M. Bristol “bibliophile”	A Review	E Review	Horse Crazy
E. R. Bird “Ramseelbird”	A Review	E Review	Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
E. R. Bird “Ramseelbird”	A Review	E Review	Number the Stars
E. R. Bird “Ramseelbird”	A Review	E Review	Song of the Swallows
Ed Uyeshima	A Review	E Review	Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Ed Uyeshima	A Review	E Review	Home: A Memoir of My Early Years
Edward Bosnar	A Review	E Review	Oil!
Elaine C McTyer “avid reader”	A Review	E Review	Beyond the Dark
Elaine C McTyer “avid reader”	A Review	E Review	Killing Fear
Elaine C McTyer “avid reader”	A Review	E Review	The Healer
Elizabeth Metz “Muse of Yarn and Artbits”	A Review	E Review	Sock and Glove: Creating Charming Softy Friends from Cast-Off Socks and Gloves
EnglishBreakfast	A Review	E Review	Addicted to Shopping and Other Issues Women have With Money
Francis J. Mcinerney	A Review	E Review	Nearer My God: An Autobiography of Faith
Gail Cooke	A Review	E Review	Back on Blossom Street
Gail Cooke	A Review	E Review	Celebutantes
Gail Cooke	A Review	E Review	My Enemy’s Cradle
Gary Swafford “gary swafford”	A Review	E Review	Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana
George H. Wilson, Jr. “jorge”	A Review	E Review	English, Yes! Advanced: Learning English Through Literature
Gregory J. Casteel “Dr. Gregory J. Casteel”	A Review	E Review	Firefly: the Official Companion: Volume One
Grover Smith	A Review	E Review	Southern Living 40 Years of Our Best Recipes
H.J.	A Review	E Review	Understanding Nutrition
Harriet Klausner	A Review	E Review	Honor Thyself
hiphopgirl_1000	A Review	E Review	Night of the Twisters
Hui Liao (Poeme68@aol.com)	A Review	E Review	Lions at Lunchtime
Ian Kaplan	A Review	E Review	Rigged: The True Story of an Ivy League Kid who Changed the World of Oil, from Wall Stree to Dubai
J. Doff	A Review	E Review	The No S Diet: The Strikingly Simple Weight-Loss Strategy That Has Dieters Raving–and Dropping Pounds
J. E. Robinson	A Review	E Review	Miles Gone By: a Literary Biography
J. Miller “author of God Scent”	A Review	E Review	Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Earth
Jack Priest	A Review	E Review	Firefighters A to Z
James Merritt “Motor247″	A Review	E Review	Launching a Leadership Revolution
Janet Boyer “JanetBoyer.com”	A Review	E Review